Monday, July 23, 2012

A House Full of Fun.

The weekend came and went quickly.  It was fun!  We celebrated and then celebrated more.

The scoop:
Garry (and wife Aline) came for a weekend visit from Peachland, BC.
A special cupcake birthday cake tree.
Garry thought he was coming over to celebrate my birthday but we had a better plan.  His daughter Nicole, in cahoots with her mom Aline, ourselves, and many special friends, chose last Friday night to throw a huge surprise birthday for him.  Was he surprised?
L-R  Nicole with her dad  Garry - Mom Aline in the background with their son Jesse.  Daughter Tamara, husband John ,and their two kids were unable to attend.
Garry had been told that our kids, his kids, and us four older adults, would be enjoying a nice two family Friday evening barbecue dinner at our home.  Garry and Aline were spending the weekend with us. The primary purpose for their visit was to attend a close friend's retirement party on Saturday evening.
Joining us would also include our daughter's mother in law Sandi and her mom Cleo.
To add credibility to the surprise birthday caper, Jeanette presented me with a birthday card and a birthday gift that she held back from giving me on my real birthday - last mid-June.
A propane fireplace is perfect for the RV.  Can't wait to give it a try.
So...we had a nice dinner before the major eruption happened.

At 7:00 sharp - while Garry was sitting in our kitchen and unable to see our driveway out front - about 30 close friends were strutting party hats and stormed our home singing 'Happy Birthday'.
Talk about a surprise!
 Garry was beside himself!  Not only had his son (who is working a summer contract at the northern tip of Vancouver Island) Jesse surprised him at dinner, here were another 30 guests who came to celebrate his birthday.


Garry (r) with brother Mark (l).
Garry's brother in law, Terry (l)
Garry and Aline's son Jesse (l) with guest.
Lots of fun and banter.
I stepped outdoors to capture a few shots of our street which had become a staging area for the surprise guests.  The neighbours must have wondered why our home had been inundated.
There was some singing, some joke telling, some tales of old (some new ones too)....and a lot of laughs.
We had never entertained so many folks at one time but it worked out so well.
Cards and gifts were handed out before Garry was prompted to colour the story on how (when he was a young RCMP officer assigned to small town Saskatchewan) he met his wife Aline.
Awesome chocolate birthday cake with a photo imprint into the icing.  You guessed it, Garry loves to hunt, fish and enjoy the outdoors.
He managed to blow out the two candles....!
He read some really large cards...

Garry's daughter Nicole put a lot of effort into this card.
Garry's brother Mark presented him with some Premium Crackers (but we know Mark and he is a gag artist.)
 A photo taken once most of the guest had left.
L-R  Trevor and Nicole (husband and wife), Jesse ( Garry' and Aline's son), Deni (our son) Aline (Garry's wife), Courtney (our future daughter in law) Trevor and Ginette (our son in law and daughter).
Mid morning breakfast.
Garry and Aline did attend a Saturday evening retirement function for one of their good friends.  Sunday morning was reserved for some visiting.  Nicole dropped by for breakfast too before Garry and Aline prepared to leave for one more short visit with friends prior to driving back home to the Okanagan.

At that time, Jeanette was preparing to leave for a Sunday afternoon shower party to honour our future daughter in law, Courtney.
Courtney's mom Barb with daughter Courtney at Courtney's aunt's house.
It was a good gathering. 
Nice looking cake too.
Now you know just how busy our weekend was.  And it was fun too!
Shortly after Jeanette' s return home following the shower party, we chose to head out for a late afternoon motorcycle ride.  Here are a few photos from the ride.
Tug boat pulling a large log boom
A fast flowing Fraser River.
No fishing activities.....boats are tied up.
That was our weekend.  Thanks for dropping by.

7 comments:

  1. Wow another surprise party, they just seem to be getting better and better. Sure looked like lot's of fun.Nice way to finish the weekend with the bike ride.

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  2. As we get older, these parties become more fun! Maybe ending a little earlier in the evening, but more fun!

    Everyone looks happy and the surprise aspect was intact!

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  3. WOW, now that was a party! Nice to get the bike out too!

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  4. Wow! You and Jeanette are really becoming the surprise birthday party "go-to" people. How many is that this year?

    Looked like great fun and lots of laughs. Nothing like a weekend surrounded by good friends and family.

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  5. You guys are just party animals these days--looks like a great gathering.

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  6. what a great surprise!!!! And a nice relaxing bike ride to tie it all up...way to go...my guess is your resting yesterday and today!!

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  7. quite the surprise party!..glad that everyone had a great time!

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